Wyandotte County, KS Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Sec. 27-340 creates a specific category, "accessory dwelling unit, primary," defined as the accessory unit that the property owner resides within while otherwise satisfying the code's definition of owner-occupied. That underlying test, "actively owner-occupied," requires the homeowner to physically reside in the primary building at least 272 days per year and to have designated that property as both the owner's legal voting address, if the owner is registered to vote, and the address on the owner's driver's license or equivalent government-issued identification. This distinction matters most in practice under the short-term rental article, Sec.

27-623. An actively owner-occupied property qualifies for the lighter administrative-review path for a short-term rental only if the owner is present on-site for the entire stay and remains reasonably accessible to tenants, neighbors and city staff; the owner's accessory dwelling unit can then count as the primary residence for that test even though the main house is the larger structure. A property that is not owner-occupied loses access to administrative review entirely and must instead obtain a special use permit, which starts with a shorter first term, no more than 12 months for a non-owner-occupied rental versus up to 24 months for an owner-occupied one, before longer renewal terms become available.